Manila nightstop

I had a relatively late wake-up today without the alarm around 0730 and took my time with breakfast of mueli and milk before checking out at 1030. I had asked two receptionists during the course of my stay about buses to Manila and they both said I could easily get them at Starmills Robinsons mall kinda next door. Having checked out the place, I could see signage for various Manila stations.

However, when I got there, there were no buses to Manila Cubao or Pasay. Staff at one company pointed to the other company but in the end, I had no choice but to take a tricycle to the intersection where there were definitely buses to Manila.

Szymon and Magdalena had mentioned that accurate information is hard to find in Philippines. I’d tend to agree. It is quite a contrast to Indonesia where people are generally very clued up about their surroundings and are very helpful (but it helps that I speak the language there).

Jeepney in Pampanga.

It took a short wait before a Pasay bus arrived. It was standing room only but as there were only three standing, I was able to grab a seat as soon as we entered into the Manila area 50 mins later when some people starting disembarking. It was another 30 minutes through Manila’s congested streets to Pasay (stopping at Cubao first).

I hopped in a taxi and he turned on the meter. But a little later, he said that there would be a PHP100 surcharge for traffic. I said that he should have told me beforehand. There was a large double-back due to the one-way system and another when he didn’t quite know the location of the hotel. The trip cost only PHP160 and there was no argument of not paying his “surcharge”.

At the Red Planet Hotel (formerly the Tune Hotel where I once stayed), I managed to get my room immediately. Nothing much had changed but disappointingly the Irish pub is now a Suzhou restaurant. Out of convenience I took my lunch there. It was so-so but very off-putting to see a huge sack of MSG sitting in the corner.

My lunch stop. Sack of MSG in the corner. Not a good look.

Strangely, after having done so little, I felt like a rest. So rest I did … until about 1730. It was too late to revisit Intramuros and took a short walk along the waterfront before disappearing into Robinsons City mall for dinner. The gogo bars were alive by the time I made my way back. There were many girls posing outside cheerfully inviting guests in. An Asian man and his friend in a wheelchair were just making their way in when I walked past .

So, that was my Manila nightstop.  I didn’t want to travel from San Fernando to Tagbilaran in one hit because of the schedules and since I had the luxury of time, Manila made a pleasant but a kinda “nothing” stop.